Morten Bay bugs with native herb emulsion

The French-style cream and white-wine sauce for these Moreton Bay bugs gets an Australian twist with lemon myrtle, native greens and finger lime pearls. It's an impressive dish that would stand up to any special occasion.

Morten Bay bugs with native herb emulsion Credit: Adam Liaw

• serves

  2

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

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Ingredients

• 4 raw Moreton Bay bugs
• olive oil, for pan-frying
• 50 g salted butter
• pinch salt flakes
• pinch ground native mountain pepper berry
• 20 g finger lime pearls
• 100 g mixed native sea herbs (karkalla, samphire, sea parsley, ice plant and warrigal greens)

Sauce

• 125 ml (½ cup) dry white wine
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp lemon myrtle
• 2 tbsp thickened cream
• 2 tbsp finely chopped French shallot
• 120 g unsalted butter, cut into 3 cm cubes

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, sever the shell on the bottom of the bugs that joins the head and the body. Twist the head, then pull to remove the head. Cut down the belly and pull the meat out. Place the tail shells on a baking tray and roast for 5-8 minutes or until they change colour. Remove from the oven and place 2 shells on each serving plate.
2. Meanwhile, for the sauce, place the wine, lemon juice, lemon myrtle, cream and shallot in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 4–5 minutes or until reduced by about three-quarters. Reduce heat to as low as possible, then whisking continuously, gradually add the butter, about 2 cubes at a time until all the butter has melted and the mixture has emulsified.
3. Heat a drizzle of oil in a heavy-based frying pan over high heat. Add the bugs and cook for 1 minute on each side. Reduce the heat to medium, add the butter and baste the bugs in the butter until golden on both sides. Remove from the pan and place in the cooked shells.
4. Pour the lemon emulsion over the bugs, season with a pinch of salt and pepper berry. Scatter with finger lime pearls and sea herbs, drizzle over a little oil and serve immediately.

Notes

• If you're making the sauce ahead of time, it must be kept warm. If it cools and you try to reheat it, the emulsification of the sauce will break. Depending on your preferences, you can substitute white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, herb-infused white vinegar etc. for the lemon juice.

• Always use fresh bugs to get the best result - I highly recommend not using frozen or precooked bugs.

Photography by Adam Liaw.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

NAIDOC: Design Your Own National Dish

Watch The Full Episode Here

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Watch The Full Episode Here

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